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Ann Juliet Ace (born 27 June 1938) is a

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and screenwriter who contributed to '' EastEnders'' and '' The District Nurse''. She also supplied many original scripts and dramatisations to

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

, including ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...

''. She wrote the screenplay for '' Cameleon'', which won the Golden Spire Award for Best Dramatic Television Feature at the 1998

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by the San Francisco Film Society, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in i ...

Early life and teaching

Juliet Ace was the third daughter of Charles and Glenys Ace, born and raised in

Llanelli Llanelli (" St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarth ...

Carmarthenshire Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...

in South Wales. She was educated at Llanelli Girls' Grammar School, City of Coventry Training College, which was soon to become

Coventry College of Education Coventry College of Education existed as a separate institution until its incorporation into the University of Warwick in 1978 as the Westwood campus. It was located to the north of the University's main site. From 1948, the Principal of Coventr ...

and be incorporated into the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

, where she specialised in drama and art. She then trained further at Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. Ace taught for three years in St Mary Cray before joining a children's theatre company, and then working in weekly

repertory A repertory theatre is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom Annie Horniman founded the first modern repertory theatre in Manchester after withdrawin ...

at the Grand Theatre, Swansea for two seasons. In 1964, she began to work with children with

special needs In clinical diagnostic and functional development, special needs (or additional needs) refers to individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. Guidelines for clinical diagnosis are given in b ...

. After her marriage to Richard Alexander in 1966 she moved to Dartmouth, Devon, where her husband worked as a civilian lecturer at the

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

. For the next 18 years she brought up their two children: Daniel Alexander, now a business consultant, and Catherine Alexander, a theatre director and drama teacher. Meanwhile, Ace continued working with special-needs children, privately and in local schools, and directed and acted with local drama groups.

Stage and radio

Juliet Ace began writing plays in 1976, after taking part in an

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, Patricia Cumper is Cha ...

writing course. In 1979 she won a

Gulbenkian Foundation The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation ( pt, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian), commonly referred to simply as the Gulbenkian Foundation, is a Portuguese institution dedicated to the promotion of the arts, philanthropy, science, and education. One o ...

/ Arts Council of Great Britain Award to work with professional directors and actors on new writing. As a result, her first play, '' Speak No Evil'' was produced first as a stage play in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

and then as a radio play, directed by Enyd Williams. It was nominated for a Pye AwardJuliet Ace – agent's biography – The Agency
After her early work in radio, she moved into television, where she worked with Julia Smith and

Tony Holland Anthony John Holland (18 January 1940 – 28 November 2007) was a British screenwriter, best known as a writer and co-creator (with Julia Smith) of the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. Early life Holland was the oldest of three children born to ...

and was taken from ''The District Nurse'' series to the creation of the BBC's ''EastEnders'', and then to the short-lived expatriate soap opera ''

Eldorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

''. While her dramatic imagination is rich – a leading character in the radio play '' Lobby Talk'' is a parrot – her background in life is also significant. Two successful sequences of radio dramas are uncommonly open semi-autobiographical journeys: first there is young Mattie Jones, growing up in South Wales, who appears as a child in '' The New Look: Tailor's Tacks'', set in 1946, and then completes her growth into a teenager in 1955, four plays later, in '' Mattie and Bluebottle''. An older Mattie, liberated by writing and performed by

Patricia Hodge Patricia Ann Hodge, OBE (born 29 September 1946) is an English actor. She is known on-screen for playing Phyllida Erskine-Brown in '' Rumpole of the Bailey'' (1978–1992), Jemima Shore in ''Jemima Shore Investigates'' (1983), Penny in '' Mira ...

in four plays, starting with '' The Captain's Wife'', and concluding with ''Upside Down in the Roasting Tin'', is a testament to experience. Juliet Ace tutored theatre undergraduates at

Dartington College of Arts Dartington College of Arts was a specialist arts college located at Dartington Hall in the south-west of England, offering courses at degree and postgraduate level together with an arts research programme. It existed for a period of almost 50 ...

as a visiting playwright in 1985–87, and postgraduate students of writing and directing in the Media and Communications Department at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

in 1995–2005. She served as a judge of the Koestler Awards, for writing by prisoners, in the 1990s, and is a BAFTA jury member. In 1988, her play ''A Slight Hitch'' was included in the

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

collection, ''New Plays, Volume 1'', edited by

Peter Terson Peter Terson (born Peter Patterson; 16 February 1932 – 8 April 2021) was a British playwright whose plays have been produced for stage, television and radio. Most of his theatre work was first produced at the Victoria Theatre in Stoke-on-Tren ...

, which included work by Terson,

Arnold Wesker Sir Arnold Wesker (24 May 1932 – 12 April 2016) was an English dramatist. He was the author of 50 plays, four volumes of short stories, two volumes of essays, much journalism and a book on the subject, a children's book, some poetry, and oth ...

and Henry Livings. Ace's book about the actor Terence Rigby, ''Rigby Shlept Here: A Memoir of Terence Rigby 1937–2008'', was published in November 2014, and the actor and director

Peter Eyre Peter Gervaise Joseph Eyre (born 11 March 1942) is an American-born English actor. Eyre was born in New York City, the son of Dorothy Pelline ( née Acton) and Edward Joseph Eyre, a banker. He was sent to a public school in England at the age ...

described it in his review as "a fascinating and unusual memoir of a fascinating and unusual actor.... There is an unknown and detailed documentation of his work with

Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that span ...

, Peter Hall and Ian McKellen, among others, some of it quite shocking." It includes diary entries from Ace covering decades of her friendship with Rigby, interviews with colleagues such as Michael Gambon, and letters and extracts from an attempted autobiography by Rigby, interrupted by his early death. In October, 2013, Ace was diagnosed with terminal cancer – her radio plays ''The Captain’s Wife'' and ''Skin'' had reflected on earlier bouts with the disease – and was given a fifty-fifty chance of surviving until Christmas that year. Nearly five years later, in May, 2018, she saw her play ''

Moving the Goalposts Moving the goalposts (or shifting the goalposts) is a metaphor, derived from goal-based sports, that means to change the rule or criterion (goal) of a process or competition while it is still in progress, in such a way that the new goal offers one ...

'' performed at London's Southbank Centre as part of B(old] a ''season celebrating age and creativity''. At the festival she was even photographed dancing, holding on to her three-wheeled mobility aid, to the music of another featured artist, Cleo Sylvestre. ''Moving the Goalposts'', despite the gloomy prognosis of Ace's doctors, gave her character Mattie a new lease of life, charting the frustrations, comedy and medical implausibility of her intellectual and physical survival beyond the predictions of concerned consultants. With

Cheryl Campbell Cheryl Campbell (born 22 May 1949) is an English actor of stage, film and television. She starred opposite Bob Hoskins in the 1978 BBC drama '' Pennies From Heaven'', before going on to win the 1980 BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for ''Testamen ...

taking the role of Mattie for the stage, and directed by Nancy Meckler, it was a triumph of wit over malady. Ace joined Campbell and Meckler on to the stage to discuss the process of writing and realising the play.

Jude Kelly Judith "Jude" Pamela Kelly, (born March 1954), is a British theatre director and producer. She is a director of the WOW Foundation, which organises the annual Women of the World Festival, founded in 2010 by Kelly. From 2006 to 2018, she was Ar ...

, who chaired the discussion as one her last acts as departing Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, gave warm praise to the honesty and resilience of Ace's writing, citing her recognition of its truth through her own experience with a family member. ''Moving the Goalposts'' saw further life in a BBC broadcast in March 2020, with the Welsh actor

Pam Ferris Pamela Ferris (born 11 May 1948) is a Welsh actress. She has starred in numerous British television series, including ''Connie'' (1985), '' The Darling Buds of May'' (1991–1993), '' Where the Heart Is'' (1997–2000), ''Rosemary & Thyme'' ...

taking the role of Mattie

Public appreciation

Juliet Ace lives in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In September 2014 she was made a fellow of the renamed

Rose Bruford College Rose Bruford College (formerly Rose Bruford College of Theatre & Performance) is a drama school in the south London suburb of Sidcup. The college has degree programmes in acting, actor musicianship, directing, theatre arts and various discipl ...

of Theatre and Performance, in a ceremony which also made

Katie Mitchell Katrina Jane Mitchell (born 23 September 1964) is an English theatre director. Life and career Mitchell was born in Reading, Berkshire, raised in Hermitage, Berkshire, and educated at Oakham School. Upon leaving Oakham, she went up to Mag ...

and Jenny Sealey Honorary Fellows.

Radio plays

Notes:

Further radio, audio and stage work

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

Twenty-five episodes *''Brassic'' Eight-part series for teenagers for BBC Radio 5 (Beginning 4 January 1991) *''Kiss Me Quick''. A serial for teenagers. Directed by Sally Avens and Nandita Ghose. 7 eps. BBC Radio 5. Beginning January 1994. *'' Westway'' BBC World Service soap. Directed by David Hutchison and Anne Edyvean. Pilot plus 24 Episodes. (From 1997) *''Patricia Hodge is Mattie – A Liberated Woman''

AudioGo AudioGO (formerly BBC Audiobooks) was a publisher of audiobooks and a range of spoken word and large-print titles. It was majority owned by AudioGO Ltd, and minority owned by BBC Worldwide. It was formed in 2010, when AudioGO purchased a majori ...

Audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

comprising three BBC one-woman plays featuring Patricia Hodge as the character Mattie and a fourth play, ''Upside Down in the Roasting Tin'' reflecting Mattie's life seen over many Christmases. *''Moving the Goalposts''. A play for one woman. Directed by Nancy Meckler and performed by

. 20 May 2018.

Purcell Room The Purcell Room is a concert and performance venue which forms part of the Southbank Centre, one of central London's leading cultural complexes. It is named after the 17th century English composer Henry Purcell and has 370 seats. The Purcell Roo ...

, Southbank Centre, London. Ace's alter ego, Mattie, offers a wry and searing late act as she relives five years of surviving cancer, with intact wits and minimal medical intervention, apart from an annoying and frustrating dependence on steroids – a witty refrain in the text.

Television series

*''The District Nurse'' (4 episodes ) **Episode #1.9 (6 March 1984) **Episode #2.6 (20 November 1984) **Episode #2.7 (27 November 1984) **A Terrible Itch (12 April 1987) *''EastEnders'' - Twenty-five episodes including: **Episode #1.26 (16 May 1985) Episode 26: Den and Angie decide to try to save their marriage and to end their respective affairs. **Episode #1.60 (12 September 1985) **Episode #1.95 (14 January 1986) **Episode #1.138 (12 June 1986) **Episode #1.201 (15 January 1987) **Episode dated 26 September 1989 *''Eldorado''
Twelve episodes for the expatriate BBC soap, beginning with Episode 13 shown on 3 August 1992

Films for television

*''Out of Order'' TV Movie BBC 2 directed by Prudence Fitzgerald starring

Sarah Badel Sarah M. Badel (born 30 March 1943) is a retired British stage and film actress. She is the daughter of actors Alan Badel and Yvonne Owen. Life and career Badel was born in London to actor, Alan Badel and actress, Yvonne Owen. She was educ ...

1984 *''Llygad Y Ffynnon'' Feature-length film for the Welsh language station S4C directed by Huw Eirug. 23 October 1994. *'' Cameleon'' Prize-winning Welsh film directed by Ceri Sherlock with an award-winning performance by

Aneirin Hughes Aneirin Hughes (born Aneurin Hughes, 8 May 1958) is a Welsh actor and singer known for playing Chief Superintendent Brian Prosser in the BBC4 Welsh police drama ''Hinterland''. He won a Best Actor BAFTA Cymru (or BAFTA Wales) for his appearance ...

. 1997 drama of a young soldier deserting in the Second World War to return to South Wales where he hides in the connected attics of a terrace of houses, adapting to the different households.''Cameleon'' Awards at IMDb
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Journalism and publications

*''

'
Obituary, The Guardian, 3 December 2007
*''Speak No Evil''. Bristol Playwrights Company. 1981 *''New Plays, Volume 1'' (ed. Peter Terson)

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

*''Rigby Shlept Here: A Memoir of Terence Rigby 1937-2008'', 2014, ASIN: B00Q25491I

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ace, Juliet British dramatists and playwrights British radio writers Women radio writers Welsh dramatists and playwrights Welsh women dramatists and playwrights People associated with Rose Bruford College Living people People from Llanelli 1938 births